Halloween Party

Halloween Party Ghosts

Take a small round lollipop. Lay it in the center of a kleenex and wrap around the head of the lollipop. Tie with a piece of yarn, string, or ribbon. Add 2 black dots for eyes and there you have your ghost. Great to use for party favors.
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Halloween Party Popcorn Hands

Pop some popcorn. Get the clear latex disposable gloves and fill the whole glove, including the fingers with popcorn. Tie the open end with yarn. You can also use a black or red marker to color fingernails on the ends of the fingers.
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Halloween Pumpkin-Carving Party

Invitation: Using orange fun foam (available at discount stores in the crafts department), cut a pumpkin shape. (A cookie cutter works well to trace around.) Make dotted lines using a permanent pen indicating the eyes, nose, and mouth to be cut out. Put all the party information on the invitation and send.

Decorating: Carve two pumpkins with simple faces. Place one carved pumpkin atop the other one, stacking the two. Put a large candle in the top pumpkin, place on a tray surrounded with autumn leaves and light the candle for the main centerpiece.

Use uncarved pumpkins in your favorite decorating spots, adding them to table arrangements, under picture groupings, and in large bowls. Choose gold, brown, green, and cranberry-colored candles and other accessories to complement the orange of the pumpkins. Finish each fall vignette by adding other autumn finds such as twig wreaths, birch-bark baskets, and autumn leaves.

Make welcoming luminarias by using miniature pumpkins. Cut a hole large enough to hold a votive candle and holder in the top of the pumpkin. Scoop out as necessary to set the votive holder in the pumpkin. Place a candle inside and light.
Fill a vintage wheelbarrow with pumpkins and place it by the door so guests can choose a pumpkin to carve as they come to the party.

Activities/Crafts: Stamp small brown paper bags with a Halloween motif. Make as many bags as you expect guests. Fill each bag with inexpensive pumpkin-carving tools and two sizes of permanent black markers (in case some guests prefer drawing on their pumpkins).

Games:

After each guest has carved (or drawn) a character pumpkin, ask each guest to try to "make a face" to look most like his or her carved pumpkin. Vote on the best face and give a sack of candy to the winner.
Have guests stand approximately 10 feet away from a hollowed-out pumpkin. Give each player a handful of dried pumpkin seeds to toss one at a time and see who can make the most "baskets."

Directions
1. If the gloves have a powdery residue inside, turn them inside out and soak in warm water or wipe with soapy water and rinse. Allow gloves to dry. Or, turn gloves inside out, leaving the powdery side to the outside.
2. Prepare your favorite fruit-flavored drink mix and pour into the gloves. (Sugar free liquid freezes better than liquids with sugar.) Add enough drink to fill the gloves loosely but not so full that the fingers will not move. If you wish, add a few gummy worms to each "hand." Fasten the gloves tightly with a twist tie. Place paper towels on a cookie sheet and lay the hands on the paper towels. Freeze. When hands are frozen solid, carefully cut off gloves with scissors. Float hands in a bowl of punch for scary fun.

Directions
1. In a mixing bowl stir together peanut butter and butter. Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until combined. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper. Let stand about 20 minutes or until dry.
2. In a small saucepan melt candy coating over low heat, stirring constantly. Dip balls, one at a time, into coating. Let excess coating drip off peanut butter balls. Place on waxed paper. Immediately press a candy-coated chocolate piece into center of each peanut butter ball. Let stand until coating is firm. Add a dot of black gel to the center of candy pieces for pupils. Drizzle red gel onto balls for bloodshot eyes. Makes about 20 eyeballs.
Make-ahead tip: Cover and store at room temperature for 24 hours.

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Scare-Them-Silly Halloween Party

This Halloween party is sure to be a howling success.
Invitation: Purchase a medium-size paper skeleton at a discount or party store. Take the "bones" apart and write the party information on the bones, putting at least five or six bones in each envelope. Use parchment envelopes for a fun effect. If Halloween stamps are available, use these to put on the envelope and mail.

Decorating: Visit a local theatrical or discount store to find inexpensive masks and other Halloween items such as fake eyeballs, vampire teeth, spiders and webs, and witch hats. Use these items throughout your haunted home. Play eerie music in the background (tapes and CDs are available in music and discount stores). Turn the lights low and keep a lot of candles burning in safe areas. Remember to put them high if little goblins will be attending the party.

Crafts: Lay out an assortment of materials such as paints, jewels, feathers, markers, etc. and give guests a plain mask to decorate as they wish.
Plain masks (full face or eye) are available at theatrical shops and discount stores.

Halloween Party Games:

What Am I? Fill a witch hat with a mix of Halloween "touchables." Let guests feel (but not peek at!) the items and write down as many as they think they can identify. Be sure to include such things as hard-boiled eggs, olives, and cooked or dry spaghetti.
Fang Find: Draw a life-size vampire (or purchase a paper decoration) on butcher paper. Tape it on a wall. Cut triangular pieces from white stickers. Blindfold each guest, one at a time. Give two "fangs" to each guest and have guests try to place the stickers on the vampire mouth.
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Halloween Party Gala for Young Goblins
For school-age kids, be-witching snacks can be part of the fun at a Halloween party. Let your goblin guests make individual servings, or whip up a bunch for the trick-or-treaters at your door.
Slobber Gobs

Instructions:
Cut an 8" length of 24-gauge wire. To make the hanging loop, fold the wire in half and twist the wire just below the fold. Trim off the excess wire.

Ghost. With the wire ends together, thread a large bead for the head on the wire so it is against the hanging loop. Separate the wires below the head, and shape a 1"-long arm on each side of the ghost. Thread a smaller hand bead on each arm. Bring the wire ends together about 2" below the head, forming the bottom of the ghost. Thread two small beads on the wire ends and use the pliers to twist the ends together, shaping the wire into a spiral.

Beaded Ghost. With the wire ends together, thread a large bead for the head on the wire so it is against the hanging loop. Separate the wires and shape a 1"-long arm on each side of the ghost. Bring the wire ends together about 2" below the head, forming the bottom of the ghost. Thread small beads to completely cover the wires and twist the wire ends together.

Bat. With the wire ends together, thread a large bead for the body and a smaller bead for the head on the wire so the body bead is against the hanging loop. Separate the wires and make a small bump in each wire for the ears. Bring the wires down on opposite sides of the head bead, and wrap the wires one time around the space between the head and body beads. Shape a 1" to 1-1/2" wing on each side of the bat. Twist the wire ends around the base of the hanging loop. If necessary, use the pliers to squeeze points in the wings.

Spider. With the wire ends together, thread a large bead for the body and a smaller bead for the head on the wire so the body bead is against the hanging loop. Cut the wires 1/4" beyond the head bead and use the pliers to loop the ends back onto themselves. For the legs, cut four 3" lengths of wire. Wrap the center of each leg wire around the space between the head and body beads. Bend the eight legs at the knees and feet.

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Deja Blair Witch Halloween Party Game

(from Gift Idea Center)
Friends with video cameras? Invite friends to create a scary or humorous 5 minute film in the style of Blair Witch, then have a Halloween Party Film Festival and play the tapes. Ideas could be: A bathroom with no toilet paper, In a mall with no credit cards, Halloween is here and I don't have a costume, have an idea?

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Ghost Hunters Halloween Party Game
Game for teams: Get lollipops, ribbon, paper, tissue paper, select 5-10 Halloween terms. Divide into Ghost Hunting teams, 3-5 kids per team, each team is given clues to find ghosts (you'll want 1 ghost per guest). Each ghost is a lollipop covered with tissue paper, tied with ribbon with a letter written on the ghost.

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Pass The Pumpkins Halloween Party Game
Have kids sit in a circle and pass small pumpkins or gourds when the music is playing. When the music stops the child without a pumpkin is out continue until there's a winner.

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Halloween Survivor Game! Halloween Party Game

If you have a group of kids coming over for fun and scary stories. They might enjoy the Halloween Survivor game and it will keep them busy, entertained, and challenged.
Tell Better Ghost Stories Halloween Party Game
Nothing help add to a scary story like hearing a bone snap (fresh celery) or reaching into the bag and feeling someone's guts (pasta). Need some ideas or have some to offer.

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Build A Scarecrow Halloween Party Game
Form groups and have a variety of old clothes, pillowcases for heads, markers and newspaper. Groups have 20 minutes to create. Give prizes to the scariest or funniest, then place outside.
Mummy Wrap Halloween Party Game
Divide guests into pairs Give each pair a roll of toilet paper. One person wraps the other with the paper, first one to empty their roll wins. Older kids and adults get two rolls, once the first person is wrapped they wrap their partner. Prizes to the first team who empty both rolls.

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Pin The Wart on the Witch- Halloween Party game
Similar to Pin the tail on the Donkey, instead of a tail use gum as the wart! Draw a witch's face on a piece of poster board. Blindfold each child as his/her turn arrives, spin, point in the right direction. The closest piece of gum to the wart on the witches face wins.

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Other Halloween Party Games

Bobbing for apples
Pin the tail or nose on the cat or pumpkin;
Played the same as Pin the tail on the donkey
Witch, witch, ghost same as duck duck goose
Halloween Bingo
Guess The Ghost
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